Shirt collar retainer



' Feb. 18, 1958 Y L. s. BUNCH 2,823,839

' SHIRT COLLAR RETAINER Filed Sept. 22, 1955 Lowell 5. Bunch INVEN TOR.

/ BY wad/5 m 'a shirt collar retaining ous sizes of shirts and also isprovided with tabs on the :upper and lower edge thereof for engagementwith the :upper and lower edge of the shirt collar for retaining theshirt collar and the United States Patent SHIRT COLLAR RETAINER LowellS. Bunch, Cape Girardeau, Mo. Application September 22, 1955, Serial No.535,935 1 Claim. (Cl. 223-83) This invention generally relates to ashirt collar retaining device specifically intended to prevent astarched and laundered shirt collar from becoming wrinkled while beingcarried in a bag.

Persons whose occupations require a considerable amount of travel aswell as those taking occasional trips find that freshly laundered andstarched shirt collars become crushed, wrinkled and generally unkemptlooking when they have been packed into a suitcase or a similar type oftraveling bag which is notoriously crammed full of articles.Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention toprovide a device for positioning within a shirt collar to retain theshirt collar in unwrinkled and uncrushed condition, thereby permittingthe person employing the present invention to have available shirtshaving neat and attractive appearing collars.

Another object of the present invention is to provide device which isadjustable for varipresent invention in asembled relation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a shirt collarretainer in accordance with the preceding objects which includes springmeans urging the collar retainer outwardly into intimate contact withthe inner surface of the shirt collar for retaining the shirt collar inunwrinkled condition.

Other objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity ofconstruction, ease of assembly, effectiveness, adaptation for itsparticular purposes, and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing costs.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the shirt collar retainer of thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a modified form of shirt collarretainer employing spring means urging the retainer into contact withthe inner surface of the collar;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the collar retainer itself,illustrating the means of adjustment and the resilient means for urgingthe collar retainer outwardly;

and

Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 44 of Figure 3 illustrating the details ofthe spring and its association with the collar retainer.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral It generallydesignates the shirt collar retainer of the present invention forpositioning within a shirt collar 12 disposed on the upper end of ashirt 14.

The shirt collar retainer includes an elongated strip of flexibleresilient material designated by the numeral 16 wherein the strip ofmaterial 16 is provided with overlapping ends 18 which will normally bedisposed at the rear of the collar 12. The upper edge of the strip ofmaterial 16 is provided with a pair of spaced tabs 20 for engagementover the upper edge of the collar 12, and the lower edge of the strip ofmaterial 16 is provided with a pair of tabs 22 along the side edgesthereof together with a pair of adjacent tabs 24 adjacent the frontthereof wherein the tabs 22 and 24 are disposed for inserting under theedge of the collar 12 and between the front and back of the shirt 14.The tabs 22 and 24 in conjunction with the tabs 20 are so arranged thatthey will engage opposite edges of the shirt collar 12, therebyretaining the shirt collar retainer 10 against and alongside the innersurface of the shirt collar 12 for assuring that the shirt collar 12will be retained in extended position. The tabs 22, 24 and the tabs 20may be bendable for proper association with various types of shirtcollars.

As specifically illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, an elongated wire springmember 26 may be provided on the inner surface of the strip member 16wherein the wire spring 26 has free ends inserted under loops 28 punchedinwardly from the strip of material 16 and the center of the wire spring26 is provided with a coiled portion 30 wherein the two side portionsand the overlapping ends 18 of the strip member 16 are urged outwardlyinto frictional and expanding contact with the inner surface of thecollar 12. Also, the strip of material 16 may be provided with a maleportion of a snap fastener designated by the numeral 32 on one endthereof and a plurality of longitudinally spaced female portions 34 forengagement with the male portion 32 wherein the effective size of thestrip of material 16 may be adjusted for various sizes of collars.

The device may be constructed of any suitable material, although it ispreferably constructed of some type of plastic or other relativelyinexpensive materials. Besides the snap fastener arrangement, othermeans may be provided for adjusting the effective length of the strip ofmaterial, such as a series of loops and projections, a series of slotsand projections, and any other suitable inexpensive type of adjustableconnecting means. If desired, additional tabs may be provided or some ofthose illustrated may be omitted, depending upon the particular type ofshirt and depending upon the conditions to be encountered by the shirtcollars in the traveling bag.

It will be seen that the shirt collar retainer 10 of the presentinvention provides a device which is easily assembled and relativelyinexpensive wherein one of the devices may be provided in each shirtcollar that is packed in a traveling bag or in any other suitablepacking box whereby the shirt collar 12 will be retained in unwrinkledcondition during transportation thereof so that it will arrive at itsdestination in a most attractive condition.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A shirt collar retainer comprising an elongated strip of flexibleresilient material adapted to be disposed within a shirt collar, tabs onthe upper edge of the strip for engaging the upper edge of the collar,tabs on the lower edge of the strip for positioning under the collar,thereby retaining the strip alongside the inner surface of a collar,said strip having overlapping ends, and means adjustably securing theends together for expanding the strip into engagement with the innersurface of the collar, said strip Patented Feb. 18, 1958,

member generally conforming to the shape of the collar, and spring meansin contact with said strip for expanding the strip of material intoengagement with the inner surface of the collar.

References Cited in the file of this patent 4 Villasenor June 24, 1930Steele June 11, 1940 Calder Sept. 16, 1952 Teague Apr. 17, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS France Sept. 23, 1953

